Open AccessSmooth muscle cells in human coronary atherosclerosis can originate from cells administered at marrow transplantation
Author(s) -
Noel M. Caplice,
T. Jared Bunch,
Paul G. Stalboerger,
Shaohua Wang,
David Simper,
Dylan V. Miller,
Stephen J. Russell,
Mark R. Litzow,
William D. Edwards
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.0730743100
Subject(s) - smooth muscle , bone marrow , bone marrow transplantation , transplantation , cell , pathology , vascular smooth muscle , biology , medicine , coronary atherosclerosis , human bone , immunology , cancer research , coronary artery disease , in vitro , biochemistry , genetics
Atherosclerosis is the major cause of adult mortality in the developed world, and a significant contributor to atherosclerotic plaque progression involves smooth muscle cell recruitment to the intima of the vessel wall. Controversy currently exists on the exact origin of these recruited cells. Here we use sex-mismatched bone marrow transplant subjects to show that smooth muscle cells throughout the atherosclerotic vessel wall can derive from donor bone marrow. We demonstrate extensive recruitment of these cells in diseased compared with undiseased segments and exclude cell-cell fusion events as a cause for this enrichment. These data have broad implications for our understanding of the cellular components of human atherosclerotic plaque and provide a potentially novel target for future diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.